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If HP delivers on all counts, Chernick said, he is going to drop some other vendor product lines and commit more technical and sales resources to HP "because I can make more money with HP."

"It is all about time and money," Chernick said. "I want to focus more on where we are going to make money rather than waste our time. HP is all in. No other vendor does this."

Chernick said he expects his backend rebates to double this year as a result of the partner program changes. "It is going to increase our profitability," he said. "That is huge. That is what we need to go out and get aggressive. With these changes it would be goofy for someone not to want to partner with them. It hasn't felt this good in years."

The partner program simplification will also be key to increasing profitability, said Chernick. "They are taking the garbage out of the day-to-day," he said. "We are so busy that we can't learn all the programs or manage the changes. We spent all this time to become Elite certified and then HP discontinued it. They are not going to do that anymore. They are going to make the programs easier to understand and simple so they can be used by everybody. It is fantastic. They love the reseller again. Thank God!"

Whitman, for her part, made that clear in her address to partners bringing loud applause when she declared: "Everywhere I go, I say one thing to our employees, to our investors and frankly to all of you which is: I love the channel. You are a huge part of HP's success and a huge part of our future."

Whitman also pledged continued improvement in partner program profitability and engagement with partners this year. "We are really excited about what is coming in 2013," she said. "Partners are part of the DNA of Hewlett-Packard. And we are increasing our commitment to the channel because as partners, you are not only an essential part of our past; you are an essential part of our future. This increased commitment includes a significant investment in channel programs and IT initiatives to reward performance, drive demand and simplify engagement with all of you."

It's a message that Dean Cappellazzo, CEO of Bedrock Technology Partners, Sunnyvale, Calif., is taking to heart to commit more resources to his HP business. "This is bringing us back on board with HP," he said, noting that in the last several months he has brought on new talent dedicated to selling more HP solutions. "I am committing more of my resources and investing more in HP."

Cappellazzo said he expects his HP business to grow 20 percent this year with increased profitability. "It could be double digit growth in profitability," he said. "We have been backpedaling for two years. This feels great. HP is back."

RapidScale co-founder and CEO Randy Jeter shared how the cloud service provider is attracting stronger talent and benefiting partners by paying more attention to its workplace, amenities and company culture.

During the XChange 2017 conference this week in Orlando, Fla., The Channel Company's CEO Robert Faletra moderated a panel with top solution provider executives, including Michael Knight, John Shaw, Michael Lomonaco and John Head.